Pink and Black Mani

Hey hey hey!

I have a new manicure! This one is pretty badass. We got this new Gelish colour at the salon called "June Bride" and it reminds me of my all-time favorite OPI polish "Teenage Dream" (from the Katy Perry collection, which is discontinued now. I should have taken a picture of the two to compare them but here. The first picture is June Bride and the second one is Teenage Dream.

Photo Courtesy of http://makeupforlife.net

Photo courtesy of www.read-betweenthelines.com

 So I decided to incorporate it into my new manicure.

I layered it over Pink Smoothie. It's nice but definitely not as sparkly as Teenage Dream. It doesn't have the same wow-factor as Teenage Dream does with the big chunky pieces of holographic glitter.
But here's my nail art for today. That chain was very difficult to work with. I think next time I will break it into smaller pieces and attach a piece at a time, instead of trying to attach it as one long chain.

How to Fix a Broken Nail

I found this on Pinterest today and wanted to share. Props to whoever put this together. This is exactly how I would fix a broken nail.

Challenging Yourself

     Getting better at nail art will never happen if you don't push yourself to try challenging designs. This is what I have been learning lately.
     The other day, a client asked me to paint the Grinch on her nails for Christmas. My first thought was pffft, yeah right. That's too difficult, but then after I thought about it a bit more, I thought, I should just try it and see how it goes! Luckily I had some time before her appointment so I could practice. I pulled out an extra nail tip, a photo for reference, and some paint and got to work, and to my surprise, I got it on my first try! I didn't exactly nail it, (no pun intended), but I did paint a legitimate Grinch, which at first, I didn't even think was possible.
     My client was very happy with her nails and I felt great about my accomplishment.
 

All You Need is Love

Rainbows, Sunshine, and Happiness

     So I was feeling a little glum the other day. I guess the winter weather was bringing me down. It had been raining for days and I was finding it difficult to get motivated to get off the couch and do things. So, of course, being the nail tech that I am, I decided to cheer myself up by painting something cheerful on my nails.
     I used the word "happiness" as my inspiration, and here's what I came up with:

     It seems to have worked because I got myself out of that slump and I feel much better! It's funny how we can turn our emotions around just by thinking positively and spending a little time on ourselves. I always recommend getting a mani or pedi when you're feeling down. It might be just what you need to put a smile on your face.

Experimenting With Stiletto Nails

Hi folks!

     So, recently I've been very interested and curious about pointy nails, a.k.a. stiletto nails. When I first started nail tech school, we learned about all the different nail shapes on the first day. I remember thinking "ew, gross" when my teacher drew a pointy nail on the board and called it a "stiletto" shape. I thought it was creepy and weird, and wondered who would want that? Images of stabbing myself in the eye with my nail came into my mind.

     However, after being a nail tech now for a couple of years, I now understand the appeal of them and I actually think they're really cool! The trend is starting to catch on and many celebrities have been rocking long, pointy, stiletto nails. My initial dislike of the shape has transformed into a love and appreciation for a well-done stiletto design.

     Working in a salon, I see a lot of the same square and oval shapes, so it's nice to experiment with something different. I finally decided to experiment with the stiletto shape on myself. Here's how it turned out:

     I've been wearing the nails for a few weeks now and I absolutely love them! They are a lot of fun! I kind of feel like a bad-ass. They are actually pretty easy to work with. Even though they are long and pointy, I haven't had much trouble with them at all. I actually have found it pretty easy to open jewelery clasps and pick up tiny objects, because they sort of act like tweezers. The only thing I've had to adjust is taking out my contacts lenses. I did poke myself in the eye a couple times before I developed a finger-pinching technique, using the sides of my fingers, to remove contact lenses.

     One thing I did notice is that when painting them, certain designs and colours work better with this shape than others. I think that more "bad-ass" colours, like dark colours (dark black, blue, deep purple, red, etc) worked very well with this shape, while feminine colours such as pink and pale purple are a little bit more difficult to pull off.

     I think this trend is going to catch on more. I would love to see more people step out of their comfort zone and give this look a try. However, I want to hear YOUR thoughts! What do you think about this look? Would you ever wear it? Please leave me your comments below. Cheers!

-Careasa

Some New Nail Art

Here are a few things I've done in the salon recently.

I love these nautical toes a client had me do for her. Pretty much anything nautical gets me excited. I love being close to the water so anything that makes me think of boating, the ocean, and sailing in the sun makes me happy.

 Some modern-looking geometric chevron design with purple and teal glitter

 A client was going to a party and needed crazy sparkly nails. We used OPI's Metallic 4 Life from the Nicki Minaj collection and then blinged-out one finger and one toe on each side with swarovski crystals. Fun!

 A basic manicure with OPI's Midnight in Moscow with an accent finger

 Piggy toes

 Cow toes :)

 A funky pedicure

 Some Chanel-inspired nails

 Pumpkin patch! Perfect for fall

And my personal favorite - OPI's Blue My Mind with crystal-covered ring fingers

Let me know your thoughts below. Ta-ta for now!